Author of Romance. Blogs about Scandinavia, Vikings and books.

Scandinavia

Today is May 1st, the International Worker’s day. Here in Scandinavia that means time off from work and large gatherings with speeches from politicians. It’s often the unions and the socialist/social democratic parties that organize the May 1st demontrations, gatherings and speeches. Back in the days Conservative politicians would frown and ridicule May 1st, but …

Spring is here! Don’t be fooled by the snow everywhere. Norwegians have decided that it’s spring now, no matter how deep the snow is. How can you tell it’s spring? Here are five signs of spring in Norway. 1, Everyone talks about the sun We’ve been sun-deprived for months and when it’s finally here–even in …

Which Scandinavian winners of the Eurovision Song Contest do you remember? Bobbysocks? Olsen Brothers? Surely, you remember ABBA? Denmark and Norway have chosen the winners of this year’s national Eurovision song contests and Sweden will pick theirs next Saturday. I figured I would celebrate this by looking back at all the Scandinavian winners of the …

Is Scandinavian politics just about free education, free healthcare, long maternity/paternity leave and high taxes to pay for all of this? Lately many non-Scandinavians have pointed to Scandinavia–either as a political system to copy or something to scare people with … because, you know, socialism. So are the Scandinavian Social Democracies (we do not call them …

Today is Mother’s Day in Norway. Why do Norwegians celebrate Mother’s Day the second Sunday of February? I had a great surprise waiting for me this morning. My daughter, who lives at home, woke me up with eggs and bacon, presents and some very pretty tulips. My son, who is currently in Japan with his …

I wanted to make a list of the best contemporary Scandinavian music but quickly realized that I hadn’t been paying attention. Luckily, I have a daughter who spends quite a few hours every day listening to music and luckily she doesn’t mind teaching her stone age-based mother a thing or two about what I should …

There are plenty of ways to die here in Scandinavia. Most of them are the same ways people die in other countries but the Scandinavian edition of Mother Nature does have something special in store for those of us living in – or visiting – this cold corner of the world. Warning: Do not read this …

After 6-10 months of snow, sleet and rain, something strange makes Scandinavians stare at the sky. A big yellow ball not only brightens up the day (and night) – it sends heat to our cold corner of the world. So what do we do when we’re no longer the place where the sun doesn’t shine? 1, …

As a Dane who has moved to Norway, I always get this question from Norwegians: “Why did you move to Norway when you could live in Denmark?” False modesty or low national self esteem? I’m not sure. But I loved this article about moving to Norway and I recommend that you read it!

200 years ago today was the last time a Nordic country was at war with another Nordic country. That calls for a celebration! Foreningen Norden (an organization to promote Nordic cooperation) celebrated this event by posting this picture on their Facebook page: Are you familiar with all the flags?